saco

See also: Saco and sacó

English

Etymology

From Spanish saco (“a sack, a half-carga”), from Old Spanish saco, from Latin saccus, from Ancient Greek σάκκος (sákkos, “sack, sackcloth”), from Semitic. Doublet of sac, saccus, sack, and sakkos.

Noun

saco (plural sacos)

1. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of dry measure, equivalent to about 111 L.

Synonyms

• costal, half-carga, Spanish sack

Coordinate terms

• cuartillo (¹⁄₉₆ saco), medio (¹⁄₄₈ saco), celemin (¹⁄₂₄ saco), cuartilla (¹⁄₈ saco), cuarto (¹⁄₄ saco), fanega (¹⁄₂ saco), carga (2 sacos), cahiz (6 sacos)

Anagrams

• COAS, SOCA, OACs, coas, Asco, Caso, COAs, soca, CoAs, ocas, SCAO, AOCs

Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese saco (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin saccus, from Ancient Greek σάκκος (sákkos, “sack, bag; sackcloth”), from Semitic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsako̝/

Noun

saco m (plural sacos)

1. bag; sack
   • 1402, A. López Ferreiro, editor, Galicia Historica, I, 5, page 344:

     It. lyno que se em huun saquo por tascar

     Item, flax that is in a sack, for being scutched

Verb

saco

1. first-person singular present indicative of sacar

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “saco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “saco”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “saco”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “saco”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “saco”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsa.ku/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aku
• Hyphenation: sa‧co

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese saco, from Latin saccus, from Ancient Greek σάκκος (sákkos, “sack, bag; sackcloth”), from Semitic.

Noun

saco m (plural sacos, diminutive saquinho)

1. bag; sack

   Synonym: bolsa

   Coloque os pães no saco.

   Put the breads in the bag.

2. (Brazil, vulgar) balls, nuts (the scrotum)

   Synonyms: testículos, bolas, ovos, (Portugal) tomates

   Chutaram meu saco.

   My balls were kicked.

3. (Brazil, colloquial) patience, tolerance

   Synonym: paciência

   Não tenho saco para isso.

   I don't have patience for that.

4. (Brazil, colloquial) something very tedious or annoying; a hassle

   Synonyms: aborrecimento, chatice

   Esta aula está um saco.

   This class is boring.

   (literally, “This class is a bore.”)

   Meu deus, que saco! Não posso fazer nada que você já vem brigar comigo!

   My goodness, that's so annoying! I can't do anything without you telling me off!

Derived terms

• puxa-saco
• saco de dormir
• saco vazio não para em pé
• saco-cama
• sacola
• saquinho (diminutive)

Descendants

• Kadiwéu: jaaco

Etymology 2

Verb

saco

1. first-person singular present indicative of sacar

Further reading

• “saco”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “saco”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsako/ [ˈsa.ko]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ako
• Syllabification: sa‧co

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish saco, from Latin saccus, from Ancient Greek σάκκος (sákkos, “sack, bag; sackcloth”), from Semitic.

Noun

saco m (plural sacos)

1. bag, sack (a loose container)

   Synonyms: bolso, bolsa

2. gunny sack

   Synonym: costal

3. (Latin America) suit jacket (jacket portion of a formal suit)
4. (historical) English or American sack (a traditional unit of dry measure)
5. (historical) saco, Spanish sack (a traditional unit of dry measure equivalent to about 111 L)

   Synonyms: media carga, costal

Coordinate terms

• (Spanish unit): cuartillo (¹⁄₉₆ saco), medio (¹⁄₄₈ saco), celemín (¹⁄₂₄ saco), cuartilla (¹⁄₈ saco), cuarto (¹⁄₄ saco), fanega (¹⁄₂ saco), carga (2 sacos), cahíz (6 sacos)

Derived terms

• a saco
• a saco paco
• a tomar por saco
• caer en saco roto
• de saco y corbata
• hombre del saco
• ir a saco
• meter en el mismo saco
• saco de boxeo
• saco de dormir
• saco de hueva
• saco de mierda
• saco lacrimal
• saco terrero

Descendants

• → Seri: saaco (“blouse”)
• → Southeastern Tepehuan: saaku

Etymology 2

Verb

saco

1. first-person singular present indicative of sacar

Further reading

• “saco”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025